Ok, so I started raw back in January. I attempted to be almost 100%, but I’d like to be safe and say I was 80%. I’ve fallen off the wagon a good bit in periodical sparks, but this time its worse. I’ve been healthy for a good time and it upsets me that I’m back on cigarettes. I’d like to quit, but everytime I’m bored, stressed, or someone else has one, I figure why not? I refuse to buy them so I bum them off of friends, its too bad they aren’t annoyed with it then it’d be easier to quit. I figured I’d get this out there for some help and more of a certain goal of mine to quit. Any advice or techniques? I really need to kick this habit to feel better inside and about the beautiful mother earth around me. I literally feel the smog poo in my lungs and I hate it.
thanks.
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Hi Teade,
I don’t know much about quitting smoking in particular – I did try smoking for a bit in younger years but luckily I really didn’t take to it.
I do know a bit about quitting addictive behaviors, however. I’ve given up coffee and alcohol recently, which was hard! The best advice I can give is, when you’re really ready, you’ll do it. It’s a matter of deciding that you really want to quit and sticking with it.
That being said, if you fall, don’t be hard on yourself. So you slipped up and smoked a cigarette last night – so what? It happened, it’s over, don’t judge, move on. It’s hard to adopt this attitude – much easier to be critical of yourself, and to think that you’ve ruined all your hard work. You haven’t! Every time you resist a cigarette you’ve gotten a bit stronger. Eventually you will get fed up and have the resolve to stick with it.
One thing that has really helped me is practicing yoga. Sometimes during a hard class, I get frustrated because I can’t do a particular asana. Then I hear my amazing teacher say, “Okay, that posture is over. Don’t worry about it – however you did it was perfect. It’s where you are right now.” I try to adopt this attitude in the rest of my life as well.
Also, the more healthy, raw food you eat, the less you’ll want to smoke, because you’ll want to keep all that lovely raw energy!
Good luck – you have a tough challenge ahead of you, but you can do it!
Hi, new here, but plenty of smoking history ;) Totally agree with vilde there. When you want to quit, you’ll quit. And don’t be too hard on yourself. I was a pack a day smoker from college on for about 8 years. I ‘quit’ about 8 times. One time I even was down to 1 cig a day for 3 months over the summer. Then started right back up again when things got stressful. The main thing that helped me quit (and helps me do many things I try on a whim or quit on a whim) is to tell myself I can smoke (or do said activity) if I want to. But right now I don’t want to and when I do – if it’s in 2, 5, or 10 years later, I can. Since it’s no one else in charge – a doctor, nun, spouse… I’m still in charge of me. And that’s the attitude that led me to raw as well. :) I’d say good luck, but I think you’ll get there.
Hi, I was a smoker and decided to quit about four years ago. I don’t believe in magic solutions for quitting, and I would strongly recommend not to use pharma products. I was a pack a day smoker and at one point something clicked in my head and quit cold turkey on a week-end, the idea that a bad habit was “controlling” my life was making me upset. What helped me stick to it was that I decided to change completely my lifestyle, I started to train, run, bike etc, I stopped going to bars, clubs and similar places to avoid temptation and I decided to improve my diet by choosing more healthier foods. So basically as other said here when you are ready you’ll know and it won’t be that difficult either. Good luck!
i just wanted to say that for safety, you should start eating a little cooked food (steamed veggies for ex) until you quit. it is very dangerous to be making your body squeaky clean (think babies) with your diet, but polluting it with smoke & chemicals. this is something matt monarch explains in his book “raw spirit.”
Teade – I agree, don’t be too hard on yourself. I am an on and off smoker. I just did a 40 raw juice fast and…wait for it…smoked a couple of cigs a day. It’s just the way it was…
Looking into it and reading about the tobacco cultivar plant and speaking with knowledgable friends, I think (for me anyway) my smoking has to do with a B vitamin deficiency (B-12 to be specific – the cobalt element to be precise).
Remedies others have told me about that have worked for them:
www.zerosmoke.org – this is the magnetic accupressure point that you wear on your ear lobe.
www.finalsmoke.com – this is the herb portion of the tobacco plant that renders similar feelings in the neurons, but is not harmful to you.
The last tried and true (this worked a charm for me in college) – just get out and run. That will clear your lungs, get the neurons desiring endorphins and draws a line in the sand physically – when you are running, you have no desire for the smoking.
Good luck.
Quitting smoking was way easier for me than changing food habits. I smoked for 14yrs and quit 10 yrs ago. What I did was pick a date on the calender, psych myself up, clean the house and holed up for a long weekend with no temptation. After that I had a list of “distractions” like straws I cut in half, cinnamon toothpicks, grapes, nuts, whatever. Oh and tell yourself bumming cigarettes is really cheesy. Also, making a vanity list helped too. We all know smoking is bad for our health, but for some weird reason, knowing it makes those ugly lines around your mouth had more impact for me. LOL Like everyone else said, don’t be too hard on yourself, forgive a few mistakes, and when you decide enough, you’ll do it. Someday soon you won’t think about it every hour, but like any addiction, it never goes away 100% – even after 10 yrs, I will have a rare craving when someone lights up.
Teade – be kind to yourself – it will happen.
I quit 2 years ago (June 1st) cold turkey and have never turned back. I had tried a number of times before and was a heavy smoker for a lot of years so I do understand the frustration with this horrible addiction that just won’t leave you alone.
This time, I went about things a bit differently. I adopted a meditation routine to deal with the cravings. I decided that I wanted to experience everything about the cravings. Rather than being frightened of them, or frustrated by them, I worked to truly understand what was happening. When I would feel it coming I would stop and completely explore the feeling. I would examine how my body felt (tight, hot/cold, tense, shaky, sweaty, whatever) – then I would try to find the place where my craving was taking place (my chest, my stomach, my head, my nose, wherever) – then I would examine how my brain was working with the craving (my internal dialogue trying to make me take a cigarette).
I realize that this sounds like a fair amount of work but it really worked for me. Suddenly, these cravings weren’t out of my control anymore. I was in charge. I had faced them and really examined them – and then they weren’t scary anymore.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
Wow, Karuna! Interesting facing your cravings/fears like that! Thanks for sharing :)
teade. i think everyone has some great advice for you. you have to find what works best for you. i just quit drinking for good (after going on and off for months) a few months ago. it was hard! at first i had to get myself out of places where i used to drink (like bars). in time i was able to go back now and again. at home i used to relax with a glass of wine. now i use kombucha tea. it’s so good for you and a bit relaxing. a substitute for having something in your mouth might be tea tree sticks. i’ve had friends use those. try exercising too for the stress and boredom feelings. a long walk or relaxing yoga are good places to start.